Leah Kelly
LAKE CHARLES – UTRGV quarterback Eddie Marburger threw four touchdown passes including three to Tony Diaz to lead the Vaqueros to a 28-13 Southland Conference win over McNeese in the Cowboys’ home finale on Saturday night.
The loss snapped McNeese’s two-game winning streak as it falls to 4-7 overall and 3-4 in league play. UTRGV, playing its first season of football, improves to 8-3 and 4-3 while winning its first conference game on the road.
McNeese led 10-0 after the first quarter and dominated the first and third periods, outgaining UTRGV 234-24 combined in total offensive yards.
The second and fourth quarters favored UTRGV, 241-180 combined offense, which included a 75-yard touchdown pass from Marburger to Diaz early in the fourth quarter to put the Vaqueros up 21-13.
McNeese got the first points of the game when backup kicker Deaglan Camron connected on a 35-yard field goal, the first of his career, with 3:16 to play in the opening quarter. Three minutes later, Matthew McCallister took a jet sweep toss and sprinted 85 yards for the score and a 10-0 lead.
The Cowboys got the ball back midway in the second quarter following a missed field goal by UTRGV, but a tipped pass by Jake Strong was intercepted by the Vaqueros at the 50 with 7:37 on the clock. Five plays later Marburger completed a 21-yard touchdown pass to Tavian Cord and closed the McNeese lead to 10-7 with 4:57 to play.
McNeese was forced to punt on its next possession, giving UTRGV the ball back on its own 19 with 2:29 to play in the half. Marburger led the team down the field on seven plays, four of those gaining 10 yards or more. A 7-yard touchdown pass to Diaz with 26 seconds remaining in the half put the Vaqueros up 14-10.
The Cowboys forced UTRGV into a 3-and-out to open the third quarter then put together a 17-play drive that ended with a 27-yard Camron field goal that made it a 14-13 UTRGV lead with 3:55 to play in the quarter.
The defense held once again to force a Vaquero punt and McNeese took over on its own 25 with 2:24 left in the third. McNeese was only able to pick up one first down on the possession and punted the ball away with seconds to play in the quarter.
On the second play of the fourth quarter, Marburger connected with Diaz in stride for a 75-yard touchdown strike and a 21-13 lead at the 14:11 mark of the fourth quarter.
McNeese drove the ball deep into UTRGV territory early in the fourth quarter trailing by eight and faced a 3rd-and-4 from the 14 but only gained one yard on the next two downs, turning the ball over on downs at the 12.
Marburger followed on his team’s next possession by driving the Vaqueros down the field on nine plays, ending with his third TD connection with Diaz, this time on a 7-yard pass to make it 28-13 with 4:12 to play.
McNeese moved the ball once again deep into UTRGV territory but on 1st-and-goal at the 8, Strong’s pass in the end zone would be intercepted and the Vaqueros would run out the final 46 seconds to end the game.
